Hunter College HS Aide Charged With Raping Student

The public school year will end on a scandalous note. An aide at the prestigious Hunter College High School was arrested on charges of raping a 15-year-old student. Timothy Avery, a 25-year-old Staten Island resident, was charged with statutory rape and endangering the welfare of a child. The NY Times reports that "friends of the girl had expressed concerns about the girl’s behavior to school authorities."

Laurel Wright-Hinckson, a spokeswoman for the city Education Department’s Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation, said that the 15-year-old girl had not been a student of Mr. Avery’s...

The girl, who like Mr. Avery lives on Staten Island, is known to have accompanied Mr. Avery on a bus on at least one occasion from the St. George Ferry Terminal as both returned from Manhattan, Ms. Wright-Hinckson said.

Avery, who was suspended without pay, denies the charges and told the Daily News, "The only relationship we did have was a friendship. Evidently, she seems to have a crush or something."